• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, December 6, 2006

Yahoo Tuesday said that Chief Operating Officer Dan Rosensweig and media group head Lloyd Braun will leave the company as part of a major reorganization.

Additionally, in a promotion, Chief Financial Officer Susan Decker was tapped to oversee a new unit that will focus on advertising. Decker will continue as CFO until a replacement is found. Rosensweig will depart in March, while Braun resigned Tuesday.

The shake-up came after months of intense public scrutiny stemming from a host of negative reports about the company. In September, CEO Terry Semel told investors that Yahoo had seen a slowdown in growth in the automotive and financial sectors. The next month, talks to acquire college-oriented site Facebook reportedly stalled, despite a reported $1 billion offer for the company.

Most recently, an internal memo by Senior Vice President Brad Garlinghouse, calling for a complete overhaul of the company, was obtained by The Wall Street Journal. In that memo, which has become known as the "peanut-butter manifesto," Garlinghouse argued that Yahoo's operations are too unfocused, and that the company should exit "non core businesses," revamp its management structure and shed as much as 20% of the workforce.

Yahoo also is restructuring into three major units--the advertisers and publishers group that Decker will head; an audience group for the media, communications and search; and a technology division.